West Michigan Whitecaps can't slow down red-hot Bowling Green

BOWLING GREEN, KY – The West Michigan Whitecaps could not slow down the red-hot Bowling Green Hot Rods on Saturday night, mounting a late rally before falling short and losing, 4-2, at Bowling Green Ballpark.

West Michigan (4-5) avoided a shutout by scoring both of their runs in the ninth inning and had the potential game-tying runner on base before running out of outs. Bowling Green (8-2) continued their run of tremendous starting pitching on their way to a seventh consecutive win. They will try to complete a four-game sweep in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Sean Bierman (2-0) was tremendous through six scoreless innings, scattering five hits and striking out four without issuing a walk. The southpaw allowed just one extra-base hit and never had to contend with multiple baserunners.

Following Bierman’s performance, the Bowling Green starting rotation now boasts a collective 1.37 ERA (46IP/7ER) through their first 10 games of the year.

Reliever Nick Sawyer was just as impressive, using a blazing fastball to cruise through two hitless frames as the Hot Rods carried a shutout into the ninth.

Trailing 4-0, the Whitecaps were finally able to make their move against reliever Brandon Henderson in the ninth.

Devon Travis started the rally with a double and later scored on an error. With two outs and the bases empty, Lance Durham and Bennett Pickar each notched doubles to pull the ‘Caps within 4-2 and bring Mario Martinez to the plate. Martinez, representing the potential game-tying run, extended the ballgame by reaching base on an error that put runners at the corners.

But Austin Schotts struck out swinging as the Hot Rods hung on for the victory.

Jordan John (0-2) took the loss for West Michigan after allowing four runs on nine hits over 4.2 innings of work.

Bowling Green leadoff man Joey Rickard went 2-for-4 to spark the home team’s offense, doubling on the first pitch he saw in the opening frame and later scoring on a groundout for a 1-0 lead. Leonardo Reginatto added a run-scoring single in the fourth inning while Tyler Goeddel and Luke Maile each chipped in RBI-singles in the fifth to build the 4-0 lead.

Whitecaps’ reliever Slade Smith turned in a noteworthy effort after taking over for John with two outs and two runners aboard in the fifth inning. The right-hander retired all 10 of the batters that he faced without allowing a ball to leave the infield, inducing eight groundball outs to go along with one strikeout and an infield pop-out.

The Whitecaps continue their first road trip of the year on Sunday afternoon with a 3:05 p.m. ET start against the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Bowling Green Ballpark. RHP Yorfrank Lopez (1-0, 0.00) is scheduled to take the hill for West Michigan against RHP Taylor Guerrieri (0-0, 0.00) of the Hot Rods. The Whitecaps’ next home game will be on Friday, April 19, at 6:35 p.m. against the South Bend Silver Hawks and will feature $1 popcorn. Group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.